Fly Me Up High
by angel-death-dealer
Summary: Set after the 23rd Psalm, where Kate's giving Sawyer the haircut. Claire points out the obvious, and Kate acts on it, but will the island interefere? Jate!
1. The 'Look'

**Here's another story, but this time it's a short one. It takes place after The 23rd Psalm, just after Kate has given Sawyer a haircut, and she still hasn't talked things through with Jack. It's Jate, even if there are hinting of Skate in it sometimes.**

**Xxx**

"It doesn't look no different." Sawyer complained. "Just shorter."

"Well then, it looks different doesn't it." Kate pointed out, getting the comb and scissors together while Sawyer looks in the mirror from a thousand different angles to see the actual way in which his hair had changed. He didn't even think he needed it cut, it looked fine after she had just combed it through, he thought, but then again, when Kate's standing behind you with scissors, what you think doesn't matter. He didn't want her to really take that shot at his neck, even though a few weeks ago, she might have jumped at the chance.

Kate, however, was not returning Sawyer's unspoken thoughts. While he was thinking about her, and their relationship, Kate was thinking about Jack and her relationship with him. Could it even be called a relationship? After she had run away from him, she had barely spoken to him for three seconds. He had come to give Sawyer his medicine a few minutes ago, but besides the civil 'hellos' nothing else was said between them. Recently, their greetings had become friendly hugs, occasionally the kiss on the cheek, but then she had kissed him for real, and then things had gone wrong. _No, Kate, they went wrong when you ran away from him._

She could see Jack further down the beach, checking on Claire and the baby. She wondered why a man like him didn't have a hoard of children already. He looked like a natural with Aaron in his arms, keeping him entertained and happy while he examined him for any chances of sickness on the island. He checked him every other day for Claire, who was worried about raising a baby on the island, and she was always running to him when she thought that Aaron had a fever, or if he had been in the sun for too long. However, to Claire's happiness, her worrying was always in vain. Aaron was a happy, healthy baby.

Kate sighed as she watched him, and she finally realised how much she wanted to be with him. It was strange how after the raft had left, she had missed Sawyer's company, and now he was here with her, with his usual sarcastic ways, and all she could think about with being a hundred yards down the beach with Jack.

"Stop mopin', Freckles." Came Sawyer's teasing comment. She snapped out of her daze to see Sawyer looking at her with keen interest.

"What are you talking about?" She said innocently, returning her attention to the items she was collecting up in the towel ready to return to Claire, who she had borrowed them from.

"Sweetheart, just because I talk slow, doesn't mean I'm stupid." He pointed out. "For the past few days you and Jacko haven't said all of two words to each other. Usually you can't keep your eyes away from one another." Kate rolled her eyes, before realising that he was right. "What did y'all fight about?"

Kate frowned at him. "We didn't fight about anything." She said stubbornly.

"Oh come on, something had to happen to start this little break up." He prodded.

"Sawyer, drop it."

"I'm just making conversation."

"Well, don't then."

"What's the matter with you, Kate?" He said strangely, noticing the difference in her tone with him. It was blunt, empty. He was used to always hearing emotion in her voice, more often then not hurt, pain, or anger, but sometimes like a while ago, there had been amusement, content even.

"Nothing's the matter." She said quietly. "Everything's fine."

"You had better take that back to Claire." Sawyer pointed out. Kate held back a sigh. Jack hadn't left yet, he was still sitting with Claire, and she was a little afraid to admit that she didn't want to go over there. "I hear the Rock Star is getting his own salon treatment this afternoon. Speaking of Salon treatment…how about a massage next…."

But she was already gone. She would rather face the awkward conversation with Claire and Jack then face talking about giving Sawyer a massage. She heard Sawyer call after her, but she ignored him, letting his voice fall victim to the heightening wind that swept a small layer of sand around her feet. She saw Jack's eyes rise to meet hers on her approach, and she gave him a small smile, before stopping in front of them both.

"Hey, Claire, thanks for the loaner." She said, holding out the borrowed items wrapped in the towel.

Seeing as Jack still held Aaron, Claire jumped up to take them from her. "No problem." She said in her cheery Australian accent. "You know, if you ever wanted a trim on yours, I'd be happy to do it for you." Claire offered, turning back to face Kate having put the things away in a suitcase.

Kate smiled, and tugged on the bottom of her hair. "Thanks. Judging from these split ends, I might be taking you up on that some day." She replied lightly.

"Just drop in." Claire said airily.

"How's Aaron?" Kate asked, desperate to make conversation and avoid returning to Sawyer's Salon, where he was still sitting waiting for her.

"He's doing just fine." Jack answered for Claire, not removing his eyes from where he was testing Aaron's eye reactions. "Well, as fine as can be for a baby on an island."

"At least he's healthy." Kate said optimistically.

"If you keep up whatever you're doing for him now, Claire, he's going to stay that way." Jack assured her, standing up, and handing the baby back to his mother, having completed his examination. "Whatever it is, it's working. I've got to get back to the caves, but if you need me, I'll be around."

He picked up his bag, and Claire smiled, placing Aaron back in his crib. "Thanks, Jack."

"No problem. See you around." Then he gave Kate a shy nod. "Bye, Kate."

She smiled just as reserved. "Bye, Jack."

As soon as Jack was out of earshot, Claire rounded on Kate. "Ok, what's going on with you two?" She asked like an excited child. Kate recognised the innocence in the younger woman's eyes.

"What? Nothing's going on." Kate laughed off.

"You're kidding, right?" Claire said, still smiling. "He's sat here for half an hour, and when he hasn't been looking at Aaron, he's been watching you." Claire told her, and Kate blushed. He had been watching her while she was finishing with Sawyer's hair? No wonder she had felt strangely watched. "He had that look in his eye."

"What look?" She asked.

"_That _look." Claire said, gesturing with her hands. "I've seen that look before. He cares about everyone on this island, and wants to make sure that we're all safe, but he always doubles that concern when it comes down to you, Kate. He doesn't just care about you. He loves you." Claire said.

Kate was about to respond when Aaron started to cry, and Claire rushed to pick him up. When she turned around, Kate had left her shelter, and was walking away in another direction. If there was a bigger form of denial than that, Claire hadn't seen it.

Kate had suspected it in both meanings, but hearing it come from someone else, someone who hadn't witnessed half of their moments together, saying it, was definitely more nerve racking. She walked past Sawyer, who called to her again, but continued into the jungle, on her way to the hatch. She knew that Jack was at the caves, but at the hatch she could get some food, and take a shower, and just relax, not worrying about bumping into him or anyone else besides Michael, who was on hatch duty.

But she never made it to the hatch.

She never even made it to the caves.


	2. The Kate Light

**Sorry that it's taken me a real long time to get anywhere with this. I am completely making this up as I go along. Thanks to all my patient reviewers, and here is your well deserved chapter that I more than owe you**

**xxx**

Jack was joined by Sayid and Hurley on his way back to the caves. He didn't mind the company, anything to take his mind off of Kate. He hated to admit it, but he missed her. As much as he tried to convince himself that she clearly wanted Sawyer now, and not him, he just couldn't face it. He felt something for her. He had always had a connection with her that hadn't been there with any of the other survivors, and the surprise kiss in the jungle had only intensified whatever it was that he felt for her. But she was avoiding him, spending time with Sawyer, and subsequently, he found himself being followed around by Ana Lucia a lot recently. Sure, Ana was a wonderful person, and when things weren't getting crazy and no one was panicking, she allowed herself to become rather laid back and let Jack see the fun loving person inside more...but she wasn't Kate.

"Dude, seriously, whats up?" Hurley asked, focusing on the path ahead of them.

Jack frowned, kicking a stone as they walked. "Nothing." He said simply, thought with more force than he would have liked. Nothing? That was a serious understatement. What was really wrong was everything. Somehow, on an island of fifty people, he had managed to continue to exclude his social life from everything, his love life was in a whirlwind, and his career was reduced to cleaning scratches and removing splinters.

"Yeah, that wasn't denial..." Hurley mused purposefulluy.

Jack had an extreme sense of deja vu for a brief moment. Hurley had said that to him before, when he had asked whether him and Kate were moving into a cave together. Now, over a month later, Hurley was still being proved wrong on that. Kate had never spent the night up at the caves, let alone with him, she always returned to the beach when the others did. So many times he had wanted to call her back, to ask, to beg her to stay just one night with him, a need which had only increased after their kiss.

"Could this have anything to do with why Kate is also acting strangely?" Sayid mused aloud.

Jack stopped walking and thought for a moment, before regaining his pace. Hurley raised his eyebrows at Sayid, who nodded in confirmation. "I don't know, does it?" He asked blankly.

"Jack, man, where's the light gone?" Hurley asked dramatically.

Jack just blinked in response. "Light? What light?" It was middle of the day, and the field they were in was full of bright sunlight.

"You know, the Kate light..." Hurley prompted. "Everyone knows about the Kate light." When clearly it was revealed that Jack didn't know about the Kate light, Hurley continued. "Whenever you're with Kate, or you're taking about her, you light up, and its like, it doesnt matter that we're stranded or anything 'cause you've got her."

Jack turned to Hurley, and said with a completely straight face. "I don't have her." Then he turned on his heel and continued walking.

Sayid then spoke up. "Jack, I have spent enough time in the company of love to know when it is being denied."

Jack had stopped in his tracks, but not from Sayid's voice. Something else had caught his attention. He turned around, listening for the sound again. He heard it, coming off to his left. "Did you hear that?" He asked them.

"What, Sayid talking?" Hurley asked. "Course I-"

"Shh!" Jack instructed, and the man fell silent. Again they listened. The sound came again. In a higher pitch, and louder.

"That was a scream." Sayid realised.

The scream formed a bile in Jack's stomach. He knew who it was.

"Dude, it sounded like-" Hurley began, but Jack beat him too it.

"Kate..."

Immediately, the three men took off towards the sound of the scream. Of course, Hurley couldn't keep up with them, seeing as Jack was pushing all his energy into his sprint, and Sayid was trying to keep up with him. Jack had forgotten everything he had thought before about Kate not caring for him anymore. His scream had awoken a strange ache inside of him, an ache that he couldn't stand the thought of her being hurt.

Then, after five minutes straight of sprinting, the screaming ceased to a deal hault. Jack stopped running, and thought. The sound had been so close, they had to be near her, but the abrupt stop scared him. What had happened? They couldn't follow her now, they might not find her...

"KATE!" He yelled into the jungle awaiting a reply, but getting none.

So he took off in the direction that he was running anyway, barely giving Sayid a chance to catch up. Hurley brought in the rear, leaning on his knees to catch his breath for a moment, and muttering to himself: "He so loves her."

Jack ran and ran until his chest ached for more air than he was taking in. He didn't care about the pain, all he cared about was Kate. Then, they came into a clearing, of a familiar grouping of trees. They stretched up, covering the sky, and slowly, swinging gentle from a branch, was a noose...and hanging from that, completely unconscious...was Kate.

A/N: Sorry it's a short chapter, but this is the only place I could end it.


	3. I've Got You

**This is another short chapter, and the next one will be the last one :( becuase if I continue it, it's going to merge too much with another one of my fics.**

**Chapter 3:**

"NO!"

Jack instinctively yelled out in anquish when he saw her body, hanging, bruised and broken from the tree. In his head, he saw flashes of Charlie all over again, but this time, it was Kate. This time, it was different. This time, he might not be able to save her.

"Holy crap!"

Hurley and Sayid had turned into the same clearing. Sayid immediately climbed up the tree as Kate had done with Charlie, and Jack went about holding her body so that she could get air. It was strange, her limp feet were hanging only inches from the ground. Jack could easily stand level with her and look into her pale face, but this wasn't right. She came up to his shoulder in height. He lifted her so that she was cradled in his arms, and there would be no chance of the sickening thud that had happened when the rope had been cut for Charlie.

"Hurley!" Jack called to the squemish man who stood at the side, watching the scene with pure terror written on his face. "Hurley! Get over here." Hurley snapped out of his gaze and ran over to Jack. "Loosen the rope." He said, as Sayid cut through it and it went slack. As Jack gently brought her body to the ground, Hurley loosened the knot and slipped it over her head, revealing the same horrific rope burns on her porcelain neck as Charlie had suffered.

Jack leaned in close to her, but to his horror, felt none of her warm breath hit her skin.

"Jack..." Sayid began, dropping to their side.

"She's not breathing." He said, and started to give her compressions.

He hated that the broken body before him was Kate. Sayid had been right, he loved her. He loved her so much that it was killing him to see her in such a way. This was Kate, the warrior, the fighter, the one who had been his saviour for the past fifty days, and now, she was the woman on the brink of death.

"Jack...it's been three minutes..." Sayid said.

Three minutes since he had started to save her. Three minutes, plus whatever time she had been up there in the first place.

"No," He shook his head. "She's going to be OK," He assured himself.

He continued giving her compressions. Tears were falling rapidly from his cheeks now. Sayid saw them, so did Hurley. There was nothing they could do other than watch Jack furiously try to revive Kate. Sayid, who was still mourning for Shannon, and considered Kate to be a very dear friend to him, also felt the tears brimming. Jack felt a hot bile rise in his throat; a withheld sob that he needed to clear, and that escaped with the final compression to her chest.

As he breathed another bout of air into her lungs, wondering how in three days, he had gone from the kiss of passion to the kiss of life with her, he felt her struggle beneath him. Pulling back, he heard her gasp for air. She was alive. He gathered her upper body into his arms, giving her a feeling of security.

"Dude!" Hurley yelled when she took a breath, a cry of relief that their friend was alive. "Oh my sweet jesus of New York!" He called out to himself.

"Hurley, go to the hatch, and get my things ready." Jack instructed. Hurley nodded, and Sayid followed off after him, leaving Jack to bring Kate once she was calmed.

"Kate, Kate? Kate, look at me." Kate's eyes opened frantically, while she struggled to get her breath back. Her body needed oxygen, and as her vision began to clear, her eyes found Jack's.

"That's it, Kate, just breathe. In and out. With me, in and out."

She managed to get a control on her breathing, her eyes on Jack all the time, and he never let his gaze be torn from hers. For a moment, he had feared he would never see those brown eyes again.

"Good, Kate. Keep going, thats it, in and out, in and out, in and out."

He continued this mantra until she had a handle on her breathing that was more stable for his liking. This was when he noticed how much she was trembling. The violent shakes were even transferring to his own body. He held his arms tighter around her, holding her in a hug that he had wanted to give her for days. The shakes turned into silent sobs, where her throat wouldn't allow any sound to escape. He stroked her hair and her face gently.

"It's ok." He said to her firmly. "Kate, it's all right. I'm here. I've got you."

It was those words that brought a sense of safety to her. _I've got you. _Three words, and they could make her feel safer than ever.

"Jack..." She croaked, her voice hoarse and battered. The sound of her pleading call broke his heart as she begged relief from the pain.

"Come on, let's get you back to the hatch." He said to her.

Standing up with her still in his arms, he noticed how frail and thin her body was. She weakly succumbed to his embrace, letting out a whimper of pain. His lips found her forehead, pressing gently against it while she trembled in his arms, and he took off towards the hatch.


	4. Saviour

When he reached the hatch, he found that Sayid and Hurley had brought all his things into the bedroom area, only this meant that he now had to walk to the other side of the hatch past several people. As he rushed past, a variety of people followed him, concerned for Kate's safety, wondering what was wrong; Sawyer, Locke, Mr Eko, Charlie and Sun. He didn't answer any of their questions. All he cared about was making Kate comfortable. She was now struggling to hold onto her consciousness again. Jack lay her down on the bottom bunk bed, and then settled seated on the edge of the bed.

Placing his hands either side of her face, he gently focused her head at him. "Kate, Kate..." Her eyes rolled to see him again, and he nodded at her. "Just focus on my voice, Kate, stay with me, you're going to be fine." She didn't answer, but every breath she took was still weezing horribly.

"Jack..." She moaned, bringing her hand to her neck weakly, still not having the strength.

"Wait, don't touch it." He said, reaching for the peroxide and a clean cloth. He dabbed it with the solution and held it to her neck. "I need to clean it, Kate, but it's going to hurt. I'm sorry."

He applied the peroxide, and where as before she would had simply winced, and been ashamed even of that, she didn't hide the tears that slipped down her cheeks, or the horrible heart-wenching moans that escaped her strained throat. When he had finished, he put the cloth to one side, and focused back on her face.

"Hurts..." She said in a quiet cry, not even trying to hide her pain or her fear from the onlookers. They weren't crowding, but were all still in the room, waiting to hear what had happened to her, and why. "So...much..."

"I know, I know." He whispered to her, wiping away some of her tears with his thumb. The sweetness of the gesture after all that she had caused only made her want to cry more.

"Had..to find...you..." She said weakly. "To...talk...to you."

Jack hushed her gently. "Shh...don't try to talk Ok." He said to her, brushing the now matted hair out of her eyes. "You're going to be alright..."

"Sorry..."

"Kate, it's just going to hurt more if you speak, hon. Try to relax." Neither of them realised that he had called her 'hon', but the others did, and Hurley nodded and annoyed Sawyer in the ribs.

"No...have to...tell you..." She struggled, taking deep breaths to control the pain. "I'm sorry...I...ran..." She said, holding his eyesight with hers and watching as his head moved forward and place another kiss on her forehead.

"Don't you worry about that, its Ok." She tried to give him a smile, but it came out as a grimace of pain with a moan. Jack reached into his bag, and produced two tiny pills. "Here, this will help with the pain."

He brought it up to her mouth, knowing from previous experience that the smaller pills were easier to dry swallow, and Kate took it into her mouth, swallowing it, immediately screaming out in pain. Jack hadn't expected such a tiny pill to cause her pain, and within seconds, had sat her up, and was soothing her back into regular breathing again whilst she leaned against him. "That's it...just breathe...good...that's it...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."

He met Sawyer's eyes over her shoulder, and after a few seconds, the southerner made his way to the sink, approaching Jack with a glass of water. Now that Jack was sitting with Kate where she had been laying, he just handed to glass to him, and sat at the bottom of the bed.

"'Bout time you learned the whole whisper-in-the-ear trick, Doc." Sawyer told him seriously.

Jack nodded, and held the glass in his free arm, his other holding Kate to him.

"Kate, Kate, listen to me." Her whimpers died down. "This is a bit of role reversal, now isn't it? I've been told that my bedside manner sucks, so bear with me on this Ok? I'm sorry for whatever happened to you out there. When I saw you hanging from that tree, a bit of me died inside, knowing that I hadn't been able to keep the one good thing in my life safe. That's you, Kate, the one good thing I have left. And whoever did that to you, they're not coming near you again. 'Cause I'm here now, I'm with you, and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. Now, I know that it hurts, but I need you to swallow this pill. The other one is useless on its own, but together they'll numb the pain long enough for you to get some sleep, and for the healing to begin. I hate seeing you in pain, it kills me, baby, really it does, but surely a few seconds is worth it for six hours..."

The others were staring at him dumbfounded. Not only was it revealed that Kate had been hanging from a tree, something that had frozen Charlie to the spot, but Jack had also refered to her as the one good thing in his life, and he had called her 'baby'. They knew that it was only a matter of time before the pair got together, but after the period of ignorance they'd had recently, it was definately a wake up call.

Kate nodded slowly, and Jack put the pill on her tongue, raising the glass of water to her lips. She took a few shaky gulps before, Jack passed the glass back to Sawyer, and brought the trembling Kate back firmly against him.

"That's it...well done, Kate...you did it..." He comforted, whispering softly to her.

Sawyer got up, and the left the room, as did the others, who all allowed the pair some space.

Jack still held Kate against him. The painful racking of sobs began to ease eventually while he whispered nothings to her to calm her. He leaned down to her ear when her crying eased, and the painkillers began to kick in.

"You really gave me a scare back there, Kate." He admitted again, holding her tightly incase she slipped away again. "I really though I'd lost you."

She shook her head against him, too weak to reply.

"It made me realise, though, how much I care for you." He continued. "Not a day goes by now when I don't regret not coming after you when you ran. I just want you to know, that I don't regret that kiss, not for a second. It meant everything to me." Kate lifted her head from leaning on his chest to leaning on his shoulder. "I love you, Kate." He told her.

She froze against him. Then, slowly, she leaned back, releasing herself from his hold, staring into those big, brown, sincere eyes. She could read people by their eyes, and he wasn't lying - he really loved her.

She found her voice again, glad that the painkillers had kicked in and she could speak a little better. "You...you love me?" She repeated. She wasn't questioning it, just making sure that this was really happening.

He nodded, not wavering his eyes for a second. "Yeah, I love you." He repeated.

For a second, neither of them did nothing. She remained in his arms, just inches apart from him. Then, her shocked face took on a transformation, and she smiled, her eyes filling with tears again, but this time not formed through pain. That smile was all Jack needed for reassurance. She never gave anyone that smile, except for him. It was the one that she reserved for all his doubts, and with that one small curve, they dissappeared.

"Jack... I, I love you too..." She whispered.

Jack grinned, and closed the gap between them. Their lips met this time in a gentle touch that slowly progressed. It wasn't rushed, or filled with helplessness as the last had been. Neither of them needed to wait for the shock to set in. It was simply perfect. Nothing was there to interrupt them, to scare them, or drive them away from each other. For once, Jack was needed no where else other than in the arms of the woman he loved. Even with his eyes closed, he could see her before him. It couldn't have been more magical. Her hands rested lightly on his chest, while he carressed the bare skin exposed underneath her shirt, his other hand stroking her hair. If it were up to them, it never would have ended, but they knew that the moment it did, the next could begin.

FIN


End file.
